Safety in Woodworking

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Every woodworker, at some point in their career, has heard the horror stories of catastrophic eye or facial injuries while working in the shop and yet, you need look no further than YouTube to find a whole host of folks who are taking risks and hoping that they won't be the subject of one of those stories.  When using any power tool, there is always the possibility of sustaining facial damage but the chances of this happening can be greatly reduced by using the proper PPE.  (Personal Protective Equipment)  While some would say it is overkill, I would personally recommend using a full face shield any time you are working with larger power equipment such as angle grinders, table saws and especially wood or metal lathes.  Any tool that spins at a faster RPM creates a higher risk of injury should something go wrong.  Personal experience has taught me that getting hit in the face with a high velocity wooden projectile isn't a walk in the park and it only takes one time for this to happen and you will wear a face shield from that day forward and wonder why you didn't do it previously.  Eye and face damage is a very real possibility in the shop but don't worry, it is completely avoidable if you take the time and make the effort to protect yourself; so feel free to add a quality face shield to your arsenal of workshop PPE items.

Don't confuse facial protection with eye protection however.  They are not the same thing.  A quality pair of safety glasses with side shields will go a long way to protecting your eyes from anything that might fly back at them and using safety glasses in combination with a quality face shield will only double up on your protection.  Wearing your PPE while using power tools should be as natural and automatic as putting your seatbelt on before you drive a vehicle.  So keep the safety glasses/goggles and face shield handy to protect your eyes and face so that you can continue to woodwork another day.

There are plenty of people today who have considerably reduced hearing and lung functionality caused by not protecting their ears and lungs while woodworking.  Tools such as palm sanders, thickness planers, routers and jointer planers are just a few examples of equipment that creates damaging sound levels that can cause permanent hearing loss over time.  Wearing hearing protection is not only the smart thing to do; it is a must when working with these types of machines.  While the decibel levels may not seem terribly bad at the time, long term exposure can damage your hearing.  Whether you prefer a full muff style of protection (which is my preferred method) or you prefer something a little less "in your face" such as earplugs; neglecting to protect your hearing will always end badly eventually.   

Lung issues caused by long term exposure to dust can be a real problem for a woodworker as every tool that we use creates some form of wood dust.  Very minute particles floating around the air can be ingested without you even being aware of it.  This is precisely why you need to wear a good quality dust mask.  While your big box store, run of the mill, paper dust mask is better than no protection at all, you really can't go wrong with a high quality, latex mask with replaceable filters.  My personal preference is to have a mask that uses a minimum of a NIOSH P100 filter.  A dust mask with these specifications will filter out over 97% of the dust particles that you would normally ingest if you weren't wearing a mask.  Power sanders, table saws and band saws are some of the main culprits of airborne dust, but using a quality dust mask in combination with your shop's dust collection system, will ensure that your lungs stay healthy for many years to come.

When talking about hand protection, I am not necessarily talking about protecting them while using power tools.  I know some woodworkers like to wear gloves while working in their shop but I have found this to be nothing more than cumbersome and I feel that in a lot of cases, they can actually cause more harm than good.  One of the major risks of using power equipment (such as a table saw) is amputation and I don't know of a glove on earth that will save you from that if it should happen so I honestly don't see the point in hindering your dexterity in the name of a false sense of security.  For the purpose of this section however, I am referring to hand protection while using hand tools such as chisels, carving tools and knives.  While there are some puncture resistant gloves on the market that are very good at  reducing the possibility of major cuts while using carving knives or chisels, I find that they too, can be very cumbersome.  My personal preference for hand and finger protection is to use a carvers tape wrap, which provides a thick gripping layer of puncture resistant material around any fingers that might end up on the business end of a carving knife or chisel.  There is no loss of dexterity with this sort of protection and although it may not be foolproof and it may not eliminate getting cut; it will more often than not prevent a visit to your local ER for some stitches.  

If you don't have puncture resistant gloves or wrap, one of the best ways to protect yourself when using hand tools is to adjust your way of working.  Use clamps or hold downs while working with hand tools, instead of holding your stock in place with your hands.  Never run a chisel's business end towards your flesh.  Both of your hands should always be on the handle end of a chisel.  Putting yourself in the line of fire of a freshly sharpened chisel is a sure fire way to stain your work red; so always work away from yourself and be aware of where your hands are in relation to the path of the sharpened edge.  No matter what method you choose to protect your hands while woodworking with hand tools, sometimes all it takes is a little common sense and some small adjustments in your woodworking methods.  Clamps, hold downs and stop blocks can be your best protection from hand tool injuries.